Walsh parts company with Nicholls

[bowles10]

no surprise really, they have had a number of spats and Aintree was the last straw i believe more evidence of nicholls ego it seems, he wont have a stable soon !

[Primevil]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls Very good business decision by Walsh. PN Yard will have a average season, More big payday horses in Ireland.

[bowles10]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls not a business decision though mate, fact is they have fallen out. Nicholls had a right go at him at Aintree and Walsh has hardly ridden for him since. It was a matter of time. Pity we wont see much of Walsh over here unless he picks up some other trainers to ride for. I expect they are queuing up.

[Trotter]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls Poor show on radio 5 reporting this tonight..............Ian Payne started the item with something like 'the partnership that has given us many great moments like this'............then they played the clip of Hurricane Fly winning the Champion Hurdle...............

[Primevil]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls I understand about the bag slinging....but turn the clock back 5 years, Ruby would have swallowed it, as the best business was at PN at the time, RW would never cut off his nose to spite his face, he just weighed up that there are bigger pay days in Ireland over the next 24 months, so he says to PN I don't give a hoot what you said at Aintree .....IM off ,,, I bet he encourages WM to come over with more horses to pillage all those races that PN would normally mop up, he will want to bring him down a peg or two, by taking big pay days off him.

[bowles10]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls i agree we might see more of mullins over here instead of just for Cheltenham in March. Yep RW / PN partnership possibly run its course Was not unexpected, i was talking about this last week with my dad and we both said it would happen sooner rather than later

[mowgli77]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls I notice the official line is that Ruby wants to spend more time with family and doesn't enjoy all the travelling but wondered if there was more to this than what has been reported. Thought Bowles might be in the know as I believe his dad knows Clive Smith? Has Nicholls just annoyed everyone or what? Sometimes those behind the scenes put in a lot of work that doesn't get recognised, will that be the case with Skelton and Fry leaving and will Nicholls now be exposed as an average trainer? His team of horses this year for Cheltenham was dire for such a huge trainer, he'll be playing 2nd fiddle to Alan King and Donald McCain soon. How does he treat the owners? I'm really not sure what to make of Nicholls, sometimes in interviews he comes across as a really decent bloke and other times he sounds like a pompous prick.

[bowles10]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls Grand National-winning rider Daryl Jacob has been promoted to the number one position at Nicholls' Ditcheat yard. Nicholls and 34-year-old Walsh had struck up one of the most successful partnerships in jumps history, with the great Kauto Star central to the success story. The Irish-based jockey cited travel demands as being one of the chief reasons for the split. Nicholls told his Betfair column: "Daryl takes over as the number one, and I am as delighted for him as I am sad to see Ruby go - Daryl has earned his chance. "Myself and Ruby have been chatting for the past couple of months. It was clear that the constant travelling to and from Ireland, with his wife Gillian and the girls at home, was becoming a bit of a grind for him. "It would have been exhausting for someone young and single, let alone a grey and ageing family man. "But he was getting up before 5am, and not getting home until after 8pm, when riding over here - before his girls got up in the morning, and after they went to bed most nights - and when you have a young family that must really take its toll. "So, for personal rather than professional reasons, he has taken the decision to end his near 11-year role as stable jockey at Ditcheat, having started here in October 2002, to concentrate on riding in Ireland. "He came over to explain his decision on Saturday, and we both agreed it was the best way forward in the circumstances. "After he had left for the airport, I texted him to say, 'Thanks for all the magic moments'. "And he texted back, 'Magic, they were. And you made the success I have had, which made today the hardest call I have ever made. Thanks for the way you reacted, a gentleman and a friend'. "That really meant a lot to me. He and his family have been coming to Ditcheat for as long as I can remember, and the bond our families have formed down the years will remain, whatever happens." Walsh, who will remain top jockey with Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins, will still ride for Nicholls in the future. Nicholls said: "It isn't as if he is severing all his ties here at Ditcheat anyway, as he will continue to ride for us this season and in the future when he is needed and when he is available. "You don't let someone of Ruby's calibre - he must have ridden 600-odd winners for us and been instrumental in nurturing the careers of Kauto Star, Denman, Master Minded and Neptune Collonges, as well as our current stars Big Buck's, Silviniaco Conti, Zarkandar and Al Ferof - go un-used. "Ruby had a difficult and unenviable job trying to satisfy both myself and Willie (Mullins) down the years, so at least that's another weight off his mind, as well as the travelling. "Above all, though, we respect each other and are more friends than anything else." Walsh said Nicholls had been "responsible for some of the most amazing days of my life". He told the Irish Examiner: "I started as Paul's stable jockey in October 2002, but when I chose to live in Ireland, this was always going to be a job that involved a lot of travelling. "Paul has never been anything but fair and honest since our association began and has been responsible for some of the most amazing days of my life. "From King Georges and Tingle Creeks, to Champion Chases, World Hurdles and Gold Cups, he has been behind them all. "With horses like Kauto Star, Denman, Master Minded, Azertyuiop, Strong Flow and Twist Magic, to the current stars Big Buck's, Silviniaco Conti and Al Ferof, great horses were, and still, are a stable diet in Ditcheat. "Being stable jockey there enabled me to ride in, and win, the biggest races in our sport, so walking away from my position as stable jockey was never going to be easy. "However, I felt towards the end of last season that the travelling was starting to take its toll - my family and I were like passing ships in the night." Walsh's first keynote success for Nicholls was aboard Cenkos in the 2002 Tingle Creek at Sandown, which was followed up later in that campaign by Azertyuiop's Arkle triumph at the Cheltenham Festival. Azertyuiop went on to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase a season later. Other big Nicholls-Walsh winners in that season included Cornish Rebel in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury and Strong Flow in the Feltham Chase at Kempton. Another Challow success came in 2006 when Denman won by an unchallenged 21 lengths. The pair would later team up for victories in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase and the Lexus Chase before Denman claimed an extraordinary success in the 2009 Hennessy at Newbury. Master Minded was also a deeply significant horse in the Nicholls-Walsh axis. The Clive Smith-owned gelding won eight races for Walsh, including back-to-back renewals of the Champion Chase in 2008 and 2008. Perhaps of even more importance was Big Buck's, the magnificent staying hurdler who landed four consecutive World Hurdles for Walsh at the Cheltenham Festival. Kauto Star is, however, undisputably the greatest thoroughbred Walsh has ridden for Nicholls. The legendary chaser was described by the jockey as "a horse of a lifetime" after he partnered the now-retired 13-year-old to 17 victories, including two Gold Cups at the Cheltenham Festival and five victories in the King George at Kempton. Other Nicholls-trained, Walsh-ridden Grade One winners included Celestial Halo, Fiveforthree, Taranis, Twist Magic and Neptune Collonges. Walsh, whose last big-race triumph for Nicholls was aboard Zarkandar in the John Smith's Aintree Hurdle in April, said the decision to walk away required much thought. He said: "In my eyes there was never going to be an easy or right time to make the decision to leave Paul's yard, and all it entails, behind me. "Ditcheat is a much bigger place now than when I started there. While Kauto and Denman are gone, the rebuilding process is well advanced and Silviniaco Conti, Al Ferof, Big Buck's and Zarkandar are hard horses to give away the ride on. "However, at 34 years of age, I no longer feel I can give 100% to two yards - and being a bit-part player will only hinder both." Walsh said the decision to part company from Nicholls was also made in a bid to extend his career. He said: "The future for me will be Naas instead of Newbury, and Navan instead of Haydock, but it will also be home for dinner with Gillian (Walsh's wife) and the girls rather than a quick coffee and breakfast. "I also hope this decision will enable me to prolong the career I love for years to come. "My future will be very different, and probably a bit strange, but I think it is still bright as Willie Mullins' yard is well stocked with talent and hopefully some future stars. "What I have left behind is a powerful yard, headed up by a gentleman, and friendships made for life." Owner John Hales, for whom Walsh rode the likes of Azertyuiop, Noland, Neptune Collonges and Al Ferof, backed the rider's decision to spend more time with his family. He said: "I can fully understand the decision Ruby has taken. "He's 34, he's had plenty of injuries but he's still a brilliant jockey. "We've had some wonderful days together, days we will always remember. "I think it's the right decision for his family life as he's got two young daughters and as he says he barely sees them when he's riding in England. "We as a family are extremely grateful to him for some of the days we've had in the past. "As for Daryl Jacob taking over, it is the natural progression. "He's a very, very capable jockey and obviously he's won a Grand National (Neptune Collonges in 2012) for us and we'll continue to support him. "It's not the end of the road with Ruby, he'll still be available for the big days I imagine, but not on the same basis as he was in the past."

[bowles10]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls phil, i don't think Clive can say much about it to be honest. His time may come to say what he wants to and i hope he does get back into racing soon with a new purchase. The official line is an acrimonious split as reported in the sporting life which looks like a decent parting for both sides with no mud slinging. I heard about the aintree spat and also heard that walsh was not happy about it (from other journo's not clive). I expect he has taken his time over making the decision and decided the time is right. I would expect to see him ride for the Stewarts still especially Big Bucks.

[gerryk]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls any info on aintree spat Bowles for those of us not in the know?

[bowles10]

Re: Walsh parts company with Nicholls

any info on aintree spat Bowles for those of us not in the know?

nicholls told walsh how he wanted Silvaniaco conti to be ridden, i believe from the front. Walsh kept it covered up and when he dismounted from the horse, Nicholls tore into him in front of everyone.